I  ^< 


A^g€x^ 


NORTH    WORCESTER: 

ITS   FIRST   SETTLERS 

AND 

OLD    FARMS. 


C.     A.     WALL. 


NORTH  WORCESTER 


ITS    KIRST    SETTLERS 


AND 


OLD      KARIVLS 


AN    HISTORICAL    ADDRESS, 

DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  CHAMBERLAIN  DISTRICT  FARMERS' 
CLUB,   AT  THE   RESIDENCE   OF   A.   S.    LOWELL, 
NORTH   WORCESTER.   DEC.  6,  i88q. 


By     CALKB     A.     WALL, 

Author  of  "  Reminiscences  of  Worcester,"  "  Puritans  vs.  The  Quakers,"  Etc. 


Worcester  : 

PUBLISHED   BY  THE  AUTHOR. 

1890. 


LOAN  STACK 


This  is  the  first  of  a  series  of  similar  publications  which  the  author  is  about  to  issue, 
containing  his  addresses  at  different  historic  points  in  the  territory  of  Worcester,  compris- 
ing accounts  of  the  first  settlers  and  their  families,  historical  and  genealogical,  the  location 
of  their  estates,  etc.  Those  to  follow  will  include  the  address  at  Lake  Park,  June  15, 
1889,  giving  an  account  of  the  earliest  settlers  west  of  Lake  Quinsigamond;  the  address  on 
Pakachoag  Hill,  July  13;  and  others  to  be  given  in  different  sections  of  this  city,  including 
Sagatabscot  Hill,  Quinsigamond  Village,  Tatnuck,  etc.,  relating  to  their  respective  localities 
in  the  past.  The  whole,  bound  together,  will  constitute  a  sequel  or  second  volume' to  my 
*'  Reminiscences  of  Worcester,"  published  in  1877. 

C.  A.  W. 

January  1, 1890. 


[Pbbss  of  F.  S.  BLANCHARD  &  CO.] 


Copjrright,  1890. 


F7^ 

NORTH  WORCESTER  :^'^ 

ITS  FIRST   SETTLERS  AND  OLD   FARMS. 


There  was  a  gathering  of  unusual  local  historical 
interest  at  the  residence  of  A.  S.  Lowell,  North  Worcester, 
Friday .  evening,  December  6,  1889,  held  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Chamberlain  District  Farmers'  Club,  by 
invitation  of  Mr.  Lowell,  to  hear  an  address  by  Caleb 
A.  Wall,  on  the  history  of  the  first  settlers  and  old  farms 
in  that  locality. 

Near  the  railroad  station  here  are  two  ancient  square 
built  mansions  of  similar  construction,  erected  for  two 
brothers  by  their  father,  the  history  of  which,  and  of  the 
farms  to  which  they  belong,  dates  back  to  the  beginning 
of  the  town. 

One  of  these  old  estates,  that  on  Brattle  Street,  north- 
east of  the  depot,  has  been  owned  and  occupied  about 
two  years  by  Mr.  Lowell,  who  has  tastefully  refitted 
the  old  mansion,  while  preserving  its  ancient  architectural 
features ;  the  other  of  these  two  old  estates  is  that 
owned  and  occupied  by  the  family  of  the  late  J.  L.  Libby, 
just  south  of  the  depot,  on  the  east  side  of  Holden  Street, 
the  ancient  house  on  which,  also,  preserves  very  much 
the  same  architectural  appearance  as  it  possessed  long 
anterior  to  the  days  of  our  revolutionary  sires. 

At  Friday  evening's  meeting  at  Mr.  Lowell's,  besides 
members  of  the  Club,  whose  territory  includes  this  sec- 
tion, numerous  others  interested  in  such  matters 
were  present,  including  many  of  our  prominent  citizens. 
The  evening  was  an  unusually  pleasant  one,  with  a  clear 
sky  overhead,  and  a  full  moon  shining  brightly,  adding 
greatly  to  the  delightfulness  of  the  occasion.  A  party 
of  nearly  one  hundred  assembled  at  about  seven  o'clock, 


240 


4  AN    HISTORICAL   ADDRESS — NORTH   WORCESTER: 

and  after  a  social  half  hour,  were  called  to  order  in  the 
spacious  parlors  by  P.  F.  Sears,  Vice-President  of  the 
Club,  the  President,  Pliny  Moore,  coming  later.  At 
7.30  p.  m.  Mr.  Wall  was  introduced,  and  gave  his  address, 
as  follows : 

CALEB  A.  WALUS  ADDRESS. 

One  of  the  earliest  proprietors  of  Worcester,  at  the 
beginning  of  its  permanent  settlement,  after  the  close  of 
Queen  Anne's  War,  so  called,  in  1713,  was  James  Knapp, 
or  Knopp,  as  sometimes  written  on  the  old  records.  He 
came  here  from  Newton,  where  he  was  born  February 
4,  1691.  He  had  a  grant  of  250  acres  of  land  including 
the  spot  where  we  now  are.  It  took  in,  besides  the  fine 
farm  of  our  excellent  host,  the  adjoining  and  surround- 
ing estates  of  James  E.  Fuller,  C.  C.  Foster,  Mrs.  Libby, 
Mrs.  Allen,  John  McTammany,  Charles  P.  Geeser,  and 
others.  This  was  a  century  and  three-quarters  ago,  when 
Worcester  was  resettled  after  the  previous  devastation  by 
the  Indians,^  lots  then  beginning  to  be  taken  up  as 
granted  by  the  Committee  of  the  General  Court  to  the 
first  settlers  at  different  points  within  the  original 
territory  of  Worcester,  which  included,  besides  what 
is  now  Worcester,  the  present  territory  of  Holden^t 
and  the  north  east  quarter  of  Auburn. t 

Before  speaking  further  of  this  land  of  Knapp,  and  its 
subsequent  conveyance  to  and  division  among  other 
parties,  it  is  proper  to  say  something  about  him.  He 
was  the  second  son  of  John,  Jr.,  and  Sarah  (Parks)  Knapp 
of  Newton,  his  father  being  the  eldest  son  of  John,  Sr., 
and  Sarah  (Young)  Knapp  of  Watertown.  John  Knapp, 
Sr.,  born  in  England  in  1624,  was  a  carpenter,  son  of 
William  Knapp,  also  a  carpenter,  a  proprietor  of  Water- 
town  in  1636-7,  who  came  over  from  England  with  his 
sons,  William,  Jr.,  John  and  James,  in  1630. 

James  Knapp,  the  original  proprietor  of  the  lands  in 
this  vicinity,  was  thus  great-grandson  of  the  emigrant 
ancestor,  William    Knapp.     He    married,  first,  April  2^ 

♦  See  "  Reminiscences  of  Worcester,"  pages  12-17. 
t  Ibid,  pages  128-30. 


ITS  FIRST  SETTLERS  AND  OLD  FARMS.  5 

1714,  Elizabeth  Bond,  daughter  of  Dea.  William,  Jr.  and 
Hepsibah  (Hastings)  Bond  of  Watertown,  by  whom  he  had 
a  son  Jonathan,  born  October  23, 1714,  and  after  her  death 
January  12,  1716,  he  married,  October  10,  1716,  Mary 
Fisk,  sister  of  the  wife  of  Benjamin  Flagg,*  an  original 
settler  of  Worcester,  some  of  whose  lands  here  were  in 
the  vicinity  of  his  own,  and  Knapp  then  came  here, 
ivhere  his  next  five  children  were  born,  as  follows 
Abijah,  October  2,  1717;  Mary,  December  16,  1719 
Benjamin,  August  31, 1721 ;  James,  Jr.,  October  27, 1723 
and  Elisha,  December  6,  1725.  James  Knapp  then  sold 
out  all  his  estate  in  Worcester  and  moved  away.  Among 
his  subsequent  children,  born  probably  in  Watertown, 
were  Elizabeth,  born-  May  15,  1729,  and  John,  born 
October  31,  1731.  Of  those  children,  Abijah  went  to 
Marlborough,  where  he  married  in  1744,  Abigail  Ward;  he 
was  in  Marlborough  in  1762,  and  went  thence  to  Petersham 
and  afterwards  to  Athol.  James,  Jr.,  went  to  Medway. 
and  thence,  in  1773,  to  Sturbridge,  where  he  was  in  1797. 
John  went  from  Worcester  in  1759  to  Petersham,  and 
thence  in  1785  to  Spencer.  Benjamin  was  in  Sturbridge 
in  1744. 

James  Knapp,  the  father,  was  chosen  surveyor  of  high- 
ways at  the  first  annual  March  town  meeting  in  Worces- 
ter, and  he  had  a  seat  granted  him  in  the  second  of  the 
sixth  section  of  seats  at  the  first  regular  or  official  assign- 
ment of  seats  in  the  first  meeting  house  on  the  old  Common 
in  1724.  Besides  the  250  acres  of  land  in  this  vicinity, 
James  Knapp  had  a  grant  of  land  November  22,  1718, 
by  order  of  the  General  Court's  Committee,  of  "  75  acres 
for  a  second  division  with  three  acres  allowance  for  a 
highway  four  rods  wide  running  through  it,  this  land 
lying  on  the  north  side  of  his  house  lot,  and  on  the  east 
side  of  Mill  Brook."  This  would  indicate  that  James 
Knapp  did  not  build  or  settle  on  any  part  of  his  250 
acres  in  this  vicinity,  but  on  the  lot  granted  to  him  just 
south  of  the  above-mentioned  75  acres  granted  to  him  in 
1718.  The  location  of  this  was  near  to  and  included  the 
site  of  the  present  residence  of  Edwin  P.  Curtis  on  Burn- 

*  See  "Reminiscences,"  pages  106-8. 


6  AN    HISTORICAL   ADDRESS — NORTH  WORCESTER: 

coat  Street.  This  estate,  then  comprising  90  acres,  and 
including  all  the  estate  James  Knapp  then  owned  in 
Worcester,  Knapp  sold,  March  7,  1726,  to  Thomas 
Gleason,  from  Shrewsbury,  and  previously  of  Sudbury, 
ancestor  of  the  race  of  Gleasons  afterwards  so  numerous 
in  the  northern  section  of  the  town,  of  whom  I  shall  have 
more  to  say  at  the  proper  time.  This  Thomas  Gleason, 
who  filled  at  different  times  the  positions  of  constable, 
highway  surveyor,  and  tythingman,  lived  on  that  spot  till 
his  decease  in  1756,  leaving  a  large  family  of  sons  and 
daughters,  this  estate,  to  which  his  son  Isaac  succeeded, 
passing  out  of  the  family  over  75  years  ago,  before  Mrs. 
Curtis' s  grandfather,  Walter  Bigelow,  senior,  pur- 
chased  it.* 

Eichard  Temple,  born  in  Concord,  in  1674,  and  a  resi- 
dent of  Shrewsbury  from  1724  to  1738,  when  he  went 
back  to  Concord,  was  the  purchaser,  before  1725,  from 
James  Knapp,  of  the  250  acres  above  mentioned.  He 
made  the  purchase  for  his  two  sons,  Joseph  and  William 
Temple,  and  a  son-in-law,  William  Harris,  among  whom 
he  divided  it.  Two  of  these  being  housewrights  by  trade 
and  the  other  a  surveyor,  they  probably  erected  the 
first  houses  upon  it,  two  of  which  are  still  standing, 
substantial  as  well  as  venerable  specimens  of  ancient 
architecture,  in  one  of  which  we  are  now  assembled. 
September  1,  1730,  Richard  Temple,  then  a  resident  of 
Shrewsbury,  "for  love  and  good  will,  and  his  advance- 
ment in  the  world,"  etc.,  conveyed  to  his  son  Joseph 
Temple,  65  acres  of  land,  "part  of  the  250  acres  which 
the  said  Joseph  Temple  purchased  of  James  Knapp,  and 
bounded  on  the  south  by  that  part  of  the  250  acres  which 
his  son  William  Temple  lived  on,  and  on  the  west  by  that 
part  which  the  son-in-law  lived  on."  At  the  same  time 
he  deeded  to  his  daughter  Mary,  wife  of  William  Harris, 
housewright,  50  acres,  another  part  of  the  said  250  acres, 
"  for  love  and  good  will,"  etc.;  and  January  23,  1735,  he 
deeded  to  his  son  William  Temple,  housewright,  65  acres 
of  land,  another  part  of  said  250  acres,  south  of  that 
occupied  by  Joseph,  for  the  same  consideration  of  "  love 

*  See  "  Reminiscences,"  page  45. 


ITS  FIRST  SETTLEES  AND  OLD  FARMS.  7 

and  good  will/'  etc.  This  would  show  that  these  ancient 
houses  were  then  here.  Joseph  Temple's  portion 
included  the  spot  where  we  now  are,  and  this  is  the 
house  he  built  and  lived  in.  The  ancient  house  south  of 
this,  on  Holden  Street,  and  similar  to  this  in  construction, 
where  the  family  of  the  late  J.  L.  Libby  now  live,  was 
the  residence  of  William  Temple,  which  he  built.  The 
estate  of  William  Harris  was  westerly  of  Joseph  Temple's, 
and  north-westerly  of  William  Temple's,  the  ancient 
house  in  which  several  generations  of  that  family  lived 
having  long  since  disappeared. 

This  Richard  Temple  was  a  son  of  Abraham  and  grand- 
son of  the  original  emigrants,  Richard  and  Joanna 
Temple,  who  were  of  Salem  in  1648,  and  afterwards  of 
Concord.  Neither  of  the  Temple  brothers  remained 
during  their  lifetime  upon  the  estates  thus  given  them 
by  their  father. 

Among  the  town  offices  filled  by  Joseph  Temple  was 
that  of  field  driver  in  1740,  hogreeve  in  '41,  surveyor  of 
highways  and  juryman  in  '42,  and  constable  in  '52. 
His  brother,  William  Temple,  was  surveyor  of  highways 
in  1736,  and  field  driver  in  1739,  and  in  the  assignment 
of  seats  in  the  first  meeting  house  on  the  old  Common 
in  1733,  as  described  in  my  "  Reminiscences  of  Worces- 
ter," pages  113  and  114,  he  occupied  a  seat  in  "  ye  second 
section  in  ye  foremost  gallery."  William  Harris  was 
surveyor  of  highways  in  1737,  '38  and  '41 ;  and  hogreeve 
in  1732,  '33,  '39,  '42,  '43,  and  '44 ;  and  he  occupied  a  seat 
in  "ye  second  section  in  ye  long  gallery,"  in  that  old 
meeting  house.  Robert  Peables,  whose  estate  the  first 
Elisha  Smith  purchased  and  resided  upon,  west  of  North 
Pond,  was  assigned  a  seat  in  this  first  meeting  house,  "  in 
ye  second  section  in  ye  body,"  as  will  be  seen  by  the 
description  and  plan  referred  to. 

Joseph  Temple  sold  out  his  65  acres  (including  where 
we  now  are)  May  1,  1772,  for  £292,  6s.  and  8d.,  to  Levi 
Houghton  of  Ashby,  who  lived  here  ten  years.  William 
Temple  sold  out  his  estate,  including  the  original  portion 
of  the  Libby  estate  south  of  us,  March  22, 1740,  for  £510, 
to  Elisha  Smith,  from  Waltham,  the  first  one  of  four 


8  AN    HISTORICAL  ADDRESS — NORTH  WORCESTER: 

generations  of  that  name  who  have  lived  on  different 
portions  of  that  estate  or  the  immediate  vicinity,  of 
whom  more  will  be  said  later.  William  and  Mary 
(Temple)  Harris's  descendants  also  remained  on  their 
ancestral  estate,  or  on  different  portions  of  it,  west  of 
us,  for  several  generations,  an  account  of  whom  now 
would  swell  this  address  to  too  great  a  length. 

Levi  Houghton  sold,  November  15,  1782,  for  £650, 
93  1-2  acres,  including  the  above  65  acres  bought  of 
Joseph  Temple,  to  Josiah  Lyon,  yeoman,  of  Worcester, 
and  the  latter  sold  March  18, 1791  for  £475,  88  1-2  acres 
of  this,  in  two  tracts,  including  the  65  acres  where  we 
are,  to  Simeon  Fish,  yeoman,  from  Mendon,  and  Mr. 
Fish  sold  the  same  April  10, 1795,  to  Francis  Thaxter  of 
Hingham,  who  conveyed  it  April  13,  1796,  to  Benjamin 
Farrar  of  Abington,  and  the  latter  sold  the  same  estate 
April  12,  1799,  to  Nathan  Patch,  a  celebrated  real  estate 
owner  and  speculator  of  his  time,  who  sold  it  September 
22,  1800,  to  his  son  Joseph  Patch.  The  next  owner  was 
Joseph  Daniels  from  Sherborn,  who  purchased  it  of  the 
Patches,  November  18, 1807,  for  $4000.  Joseph  Daniels's 
wife.  Thankful,  was  daughter  of  James  Penniman  of 
Medway,  and  sister  of  Abigail,  wife  of  the  first  Samuel 
Damon  of  Holden.  Joseph  Daniels  died  about  1820, 
leaving  his  estate  to  his  son  Joseph  Daniels,  Jr.,  who 
married  Eliza  Glazier,  daughter  of  Calvin  and  Eliza 
(Pierce)  Glazier  of  Rutland.  Joseph,  Jr.,  and  Eliza  were 
parents  of  Mrs.  Lewis  Thayer,  now  residing  at  No.  142 
Lincoln  Street ;  of  Mrs.  John  Mason,  now  residing  at 
No.  9  John  Street ;  of  the  wife  of  the  late  Loison  D. 
Towne,  formerly  residing  at  No.  10  Harvard  Street ;  and 
of  the  late  Joseph  D.  Daniels,  whose  widow  resides  at 
No.  18  Harvard  Street.  Joseph  Daniels,  Jr.,  carried  on 
the  farm  for  several  years,  till  the  estate,  under  his 
improvident  management,  passed  through  a  heavy  mort- 
gage, about  1831,  into  the  hands  of  his  cousin,  the  late 
Col.  Samuel  Damon  of  Holden,  son  of  the  first  Samuel 
Damon,  the  mortgage  being  subject  to  the  right  of 
dower  of  Thankful  Daniels,  the  widow  of  Joseph  Daniels, 
Sr.     The  farm  was  managed  for  two  years,  from  1831  to 


ITS  FIRST  SETTLERS  AND  OLD   FARMS.  9 

1833,  by  Robert  S.  Gleason,  whose  wife  was  a  daughter 
of  Daniel  Davis,  the  latter's  wife  being  a  daughter  of 
Francis  Daniels,  brother  of  Joseph,  Sr.  October  1,  1833, 
Col.  Damon,  for  the  sum  of  $3500,  conveyed  the  estate, 
then  comprising  152  acres,  to  Robert  S.  Gleason  and 
Ezekiel  Newton,  the  latter  having  for  two  years  previous 
worked  for  Mr.  Gleason  on  the  farm.  They  managed 
the  estate  together  for  six  years,  till  April  15,  1839, 
when  the  widow.  Thankful  Gleason,  sold  out  to  them  her 
right  of  dower  and  interest  in  the  estate,  where  she  had 
resided  for  thirty  years,  and  went  to  reside  with  her 
grand  daughter,  Mrs.  Robert  S.  Gleason,  on  Ararat 
Street ;  Mr.  Gleason,  at  the  same  time,  disposing  of  his 
half  of  the  estate  to  Charles  Newton,  a  brother  of  Ezekiel, 
and  these  two  brothers  then  managed  the  old  farm 
together  for  six  years,  both  residing  with  their  respective 
families  in  this  house,  in  which  both  held  their  honey- 
moon receptions  at  their  marriage,  Ezekiel  in  1835  and 
Charles  in  1842,  after  coming  here.  The  elder  of  these 
two  brothers,  our  respected  veteran  friend,  Ezekiel 
Newton,  at  my  right,  hale  and  hearty  in  his  78th  year, 
we  are  all  happy  to  greet  with  us  to-night,  from  his 
new  home  in  Westborough;  also  a  younger  surviving 
brother,  at  my  left,  Abraham  H.  Newton, .  who  can 
give  many  pleasant  recollections  of  his  boyhood  here. 

About  1846,  the  old  farm  was  divided,  Ezekiel  Newton 
taking  the  northern  half,  and  Charles  the  southern  half 
extending  to  Ararat  Street,  on  which  latter  half  Charles 
Newton  built  the  house  now  occupied  by  architect  James 
E.  Fuller ;  the  preceding  owner  of  this  half,  which  has 
had  many  owners  since  Charles  Newton  sold  it,  about 
1861,  being  our  friend  C.  C.  Foster.  Ezekiel  Newton 
•owned  and  occupied  the  northern  haK  of  this  original 
estate,  including  the  house  we  are  in,  till  1870,  when, 
after  residing  here  thirty-nine  years,  he  sold  it  to  the 
late  Charles  H.  Geeser,  who  owned  and  occupied  it  till 
his  decease,  and  after  him  his  son,  the  present  Charles  P. 
Geeser,  who  sold  it  in  1884  to  Walter  S.  Bugbee,  now  of 
Shrewsbury  ;  and  the  latter  sold  it  in  1887  to  the  present 
owner   and   occupant,  our   generous   host.     When   Mr. 


10  AN    HISTORICAL   ADDRESS — NORTH   WORCESTER: 

Geeser  sold  out  here,  he  built  his  present  residence  just 
across  the  road.  When  Joseph  Daniels,  Jr.,  lived  here,  he 
kept  a  store  in  this  house  for  many  years,  where  he  was 
a  licensed  retailer  of  intoxicating  drinks,  in  accordance 
with  an  old  custom,  unfortunately,  not  yet  extinct  in  too 
many  places,  though  long  since  extinguished  from  this 
locality ;  and  it  is  ardently  hoped,  since  the  glorious 
result  of  the  recent  vote  on  the  question  by  our  citizens, 
that  the  whole  city  may  be  redeemed  from  the  terrible- 
curse. 

The  widow.  Thankful  Daniels,  after  removing  from 
her  old  homestead  here,  in  1840,  resided  with  her 
grand  daughter,  Mrs.  Robert  S.  Gleason,  on  Ararat  Street, 
where  she  died  January  10,  1852,  aged  93  years,, 
7  months  and  4  days,  and  was  buried  in  Rural  Cemetery. 
Eliza  G.  Daniels,  widow  of  Joseph  Daniels,  Jr.,  died  Jan- 
uary 28,  1861,  aged  71  years  and  7  months,  at  the 
residence  of  her  son,  the  late  Joseph  D.  Daniels,  on  Har- 
vard Street. 

Richard^  Newton,  progenitor  of  the  Newtons  in  New 
England,  came  from  England  and  was  one  of  the  first 
settlers  in  Sudbury  in  1640,  and  one  of  the  petitioners 
for  Marlborough,  where  he  settled  in  1660,  in  the  south- 
ern part  afterwards  set  oif  for  Southborough,  where  and 
in  Westborough  and  Shrewsbury,  he  has  descendants. 
He  died  at  the  old  homestead  in  Southborough,  August 
24,  1701,  aged  100  years.  His  son  Moses,^  born  in  1646, 
married  in  1768  Joanna  Larkin,  and  had  in  Southborough, 
Moses,^  Jr.,  born  in  1669,  who  married  in  169o,  Sarah 
Howe,  and  their  three  sons,  Aaron,^  Elisha,"^  and  Ezekiel,* 
were  among  the  first  settlers  in  Shrewsbury,  where  they 
had  numerous  descendants.  Elisha^  married  in  1728, 
Sarah  Tomlin  of  Westborough,  and  had  in  Shrewsbury 
twelve  children,  of  whom  the  sixth  son  and  eighth 
child  was  Charles,^  born  August  28,  1742,  who  married 
in  1765,  Tabitha  Bowker  of  Westborough,  and  had  in 
Shrewsbury  ^ve  children,  of  whom  Ezra^,  born  November 
22,  1774,  married  January  28,  1812,  Lucy  Howe  of 
Princeton,  and  settled  there,  they  being  parents  of  the 
above  mentioned  Ezekiel,  Charles,  and  Abraham  H.  New- 


ITS  FIRST  SETTLERS   AND   OLD   FARMS.  11 

ton.  The  father  died  with  his  oldest  son  Ezekiel,  in  this 
house,  April  10,  1863,  while  the  youngest  son  Abraham 
H.  was  a  soldier  in  the  Union  Army,  in  company  F,  51st 
regiment,  and  not,  as  the  minister  said  at  his  father's 
funeral,  "  a  wanderer  up  and  down  the  earth."  Charles 
died  about  two  years  ago,  in  Millbury,  and  the  other 
surviving  brother,  Ezra,  Jr.,  has  been  a  resident  of  the 
far  west  for  some  thirty  years. 

Elisha  Smith,  who  bought  in  1740  the  estate  of 
William  Temple,  including  the  Libby  house  and  the 
original  60  acres  of  that  estate,  was  son  of  Jonathan  and 
Jane  (Peabody)  Smith  of  Watertown,  where  he  was  born 
January  11,  1692.  Jonathan,  born  in  1659,  was  son  of 
Thomas  Smith,  who  came  to  America  in  the  summer  of 
1635,  then  aged  35,  and  settled  in  Watertown,  where  he 
died,  March  10,  1693,  aged  93.  He  was  admitted  free- 
man of  the  Massachusetts  colony.  May  17,  1637.  He 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  William  Knapp,  before  refer- 
red to,  by  whom  he  had  nine  children,  born  between 
1637  and  1662,  of  whom  Jonathan,  born  in  1659,  was 
father  of  Elisha.  Elisha  Smith  thus  bore  the  blood 
relationship  of  second  cousin  to  the  original  proprietor  of 
this  land,  James  Knapp,  both  being  grandsons  of  William 
Knapp.  This  relationship  may  have  led  to  the  Smiths 
coming  here,  Elisha  Smith  married,  March  25,  1713, 
Patience  Brown,  daughter  of  Captain  Abraham  and  Mary 
(Hyde)  Brown,  of  that  part  of  old  Watertown,  afterwards 
Waltham,  and  they  had  there  these  six  children :  First, 
Jonathan,  born  January  23,  1715,  who  married  Novem- 
ber 8,  1736,  Susanna  Stearns,  daughter  of  Isaac  and 
Mary  (Bemis)  Stearns  of  Waltham,  and  sister  of 
Nathaniel  Stearns  of  Holden.  Jonathan  and  Susanna 
settled  in  Lunenburg  on  100  acres  of  land  there,  given 
him  by  his  father,  where  they  had  Keuben,  Simon,  Mary, 
and  Patience,  of  whom  the  latter  married  a  Stiles,  and 
Jonathan  died  before  his  father. 

Elisha  Smith's  second  child.  Patience,  born  February 
23,  1717,  married  December  6,  1733,  Abraham  Sander- 
son, who  was  born  in  Watertown,  March  28,  1711,  and 
they  also  settled  in  Lunenberg,  on  seventy  acres  of  land 


12  AN    HISTORICAL   ADDRESS — NORTH  WORCESTER: 

given  them  by  her  father,  on  the  northern  border  of  the 
town,  adjoining  Townsend,  where  Abraham  and  Patience 
had  thirteen  children,  of  whom  the  fourth  one  was  Jacob 
Sanderson,  a  minute  man  of  the  revolution,  at  the  battle 
of  Bennington,  who  married  in  Worcester  in  1760, 
Elizabeth  Child,  and  settled  in  Lunenburg  on  400  acres 
of  land  he  purchased  east  of  his  father.  The  homestead 
farm  of  the  first  Abraham  Sanderson  in  Lunenburg  is 
still  in  the  family,  being  owned  and  occupied  by  his 
great-grandson,  Richard  Gilchrist,  in  the  original  gable 
roofed  house,  to  which  many  pilgrimages  are  made  by 
descendants  of  the  original  settler.  The  grave  of  this 
venerable  ancestor  is  marked  by  a  headstone  of  slate  in 
the  old  cemetery  in  Lunenburg,  inscribed  '^Abraham 
Sanderson,  died  December  4,  1776,  aged  86."  His  wife 
Patience  lies  by  his  side.  Abraham  was  the  second  of 
five  children  of  Samuel  and  Mercy  (Gale)  Sanderson  of 
Watertown,  grandson  of  Dea.  Jonathan  and  Abiah  (Bart- 
lett)  Sanderson,  and  great-grandson  of  the  original 
settlers,  Edward  and  Mary  (Eggleston)  Sanderson  of 
Watertown.  The  name  of  this  family  was  frequently 
written  in  the  old  records  Sanders,  and  Saunders. 

Among  the  numerous  descendants  of  the  Jacob  San- 
derson above  mentioned,  is  his  great-grandson,  our 
esteemed  fellow  citizen,  present  with  us  to-night.  Rev. 
Alonzo  Sanderson,  pastor  of  Laurel  Street  church,  whose 
father,  Jesse  Sanderson,  is  still  living  in  Lunenburg,  hale 
and  hearty  at  86. 

The  third  child  of  Elisha  and  Patience  ( Brown)  Smith 
was  Elisha  Smith,  Jr.,  born  June  4,  1719,  who  married 
Susanna  Gleason,  born  in  1722,  the  oldest  of  eleven 
children  of  Thomas  Gleason  of  Worcester,  before  men- 
tioned. Elisha,  Jr.,  and  Susanna,  settled  on  the  estate 
which  his  father,  Elisha  Smith,  Sr.,  bought  in  1740  of 
William  Temple ;  while  the  father  settled  on  another 
estate  of  140  acres  south  of  it  and  west  of  and  adjoining 
North  Pond,  which  he  purchased  the  year  previous,  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1739,  of  Richard  Peables,  another  extensive 
original  proprietor  of  land  in  this  part  of  Worcester. 
This  purchase  of  140  acres  included  the  farms 
now  of  R.  J.  Pierce,  Eben  and  W.  C.  Jewett,  and  others. 


ITS  FIRST  SETTLERS   AND   OLD   FARMS.  13 

Of  the  other  children  of  Elisha,  Sr.,  and  Patience 
(Brown)  Smith,  Isaac  settled  on  87  acres  of  land  given 
him  by  his  father  in  the  south  east  part  of  Holden,  and 
Eunice  was  wife  of  Isaac  Gleason,  who  resided  where 
his  father,  Thomas  Gleason,  before  spoken  of,  lived, 
on  Burncoat  Street,  where  Edwin  P.  Curtis  now  lives. 
By  a  second  wife,  Abigail,  whom  he  married  in  1730, 
Elisha  Smith,  Sr.,  had  five  other  children,  of  whom 
Abraham  settled  on  120  acres  of  land  given  him  by  his 
father  in  Lunenburg,  and  Robert,  born  in  Waltham  in 
1737,  two  years  before  the  father  came  to  Worcester, 
settled  on  the  paternal  homestead  given  him  by  the 
father  at  his  decease  in  1765,  west  of  the  pond,  including 
the  land  where  R.  J.  Pierce  and  E.  and  W.  C.  Jewett 
now  live.  This  old  estate,  then  comprising  252  acres, 
Robert  Smith  sold  in  1776  to  Asa  Ward,  father  of  the 
former  Register  of  Deeds,  Artemas  Ward.  Robert 
Smith  then  removed  to  his  last  residence  on  Ararat 
Street,  where  his  son-in-law,  Jonathan  Gleason,  Jr.,  and 
the  latter's  sons,  Robert  S.*  and  Benjamin  F.  Gleason 
afterwards  lived,  the  main  part  of  that  estate  having 
been  for  many  years  owned  and  occupied  by  C.  B. 
Sweetser,  and  a  portion  of  it  by  the  family  of  the  late 
Benjamin  F.  Gleason,  who  died  February  16,  1869, 
aged  53  ;  his  father  Jonathan  Gleason,  Jr.,  died  May  3, 
1838,  aged  66 ;  and  the  latter's  widow,  Esther, 
daughter  of   Robert   Smith,  died   December   31,    1866, 

*  Robert  S.  Gleason  sold  out  his  interest  on  Ararat  street  to  his  brother 
Benjamin  F.  in  1855,  and  removed  his  residence  to  Beach  street,  and  after- 
wards to  Washington  street,  where  he  died  in  1870,  and  his  widow  lived 
there  after  him.  Their  grandfather,  Jonathan  Gleason,  Sr.,  father  of 
Jonathan  Jr.,  was  the  oldest  of  ten  children  of  the  above  mentioned  Isaac 
Gleason,  who  died  in  1777,  several  of  whose  children  settled  on  different 
portions  of  the  extensive  landed  estates  of  their  father,  Isaac  Gleason,  on 
both  sides  of  Burncoat  street.  Jonathan  Gleason,  Sr.,  lived  in  the  ancient 
house  still  standing  on  the  west  side  of  West  Boylston  street  in  Northville, 
now  owned  by  Joseph  Stone,  and  his  son,  Jonathan,  Jr.,  was  the  oldest  of 
his  eleven  children.  They  are  descendants  of  Thomas  Gleason,  from  the 
old  country,  admitted  freeman  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony  in  1652,  who 
settled  first  in  Watertown,  was  of  Cambridge  early  as  1657,  of  Charlestown 
in  1662,  and  afterwards  in  Cambridge,  where  he  died  in  1684.  He  was 
great-grandfather  of  the  first  Thomas  Gleason  of  Worcester,  above  men- 
tioned. A  fuller  genealogy  of  these  and  other  old  Worcester  families  will 
form  subjects  of  future  essays  or  addresses  of  this  series. 


14  AN    HISTORICAL   ADDRESS — NORTH   WORCESTER: 

aged  95,  at  the  residence  of  her  daughter  on  Ararat 
Street. 

Robert  Smith  had  two  sons  and  seven  daughters : 
1,  David,  resided  on  21  acres  of  land  given  him  by  the 
father,  in  Holden ;  2,  Amos,  married  a  Winn  and  resided 
on  a  farm  in  Holden,  also  given  him  by  the  father ; 
3,  Abigail,  married  in  1780,  Benjamin  Rice  of  Barre  and 
had  six  children  there ;  4,  Lydia,  married  Daniel  Ball ; 

5,  Sarah,   married   in    1786    Samuel   Bixby   of   Barre ; 

6,  Ruth,  married  Aaron  Parker  of  Holden,  grandfather  of 
Charles  E.  Parker,  present  here  to-night ;  7,  Esther,  mar- 
ried Jonathan  Gleason,  Jr.,  and  succeeded  to  the  paternal 
estate  on  Ararat  Street,  as  before  mentioned  ;  8,  Hannah, 
married  Josiah  Flagg,  and  had  Jonathan,  Joel,  and  others ; 
9,  another  daughter  married  a  Ward.  Seven  of  these 
children  were  by  Robert  Smith's  first  wife  Sarah,  who  died 
February  21,  1766,  aged  33,  and  the  last  two  were  by  his 
second  wife,  Elizabeth  Goodale,  sister  of  Paul  Goodale, 
Sr..  of  West  Boylston.  Robert  Smith  died  July  4,  1807, 
aged  70,  at  his  last  residence  on  Ararat  Street,  and  his 
widow  died  there  October  6,  1837,  aged  96  years  and  7 
months.  Robert  and  his  brother,  Elisha  Smith,  Jr.,  and 
their  father,  Elisha,  Sr.,  had  seats  assigned  them  in  the 
meeting  house  erected  on  the  old  Common  in  1763, 
according  to  the  plan  printed  in  my  "  Reminiscences  of 
Worcester,"  at  page  113.  Elisha,  Sr.,  and  his  son  Robert 
occupied  the  same  slip  or  pew  at  the  right  of  the  pulpit, 
as  will  be  noticed.  Among  other  official  positions,  Rob- 
ert Smith  was  selectman  in  1778  and  '79  ;  his  brother 
Elisha,  Jr.,  was  one  of  the  building  committee  of  the 
meeting  house  in  1763,  one  of  the  school  committee  in 
1753,  and  surveyor  of  highways  in  1744,  with  other  town 
duties;  and  their  father  Elisha,  Sr.,  was  surveyor  of 
highways  of  the  town  in  1740,  '43,  '46,  '47,  and  '49  ; 
school  committee  in  1740,  and  '43  ;  collector  of  taxes  in 
1747  and  '49  ;  and  selectman  and  assessor  in  1752. 

Elisha  Smith,  Sr.,  married  for  his  third  and  last  wife,  a 
widow,  Sarah  Melvin  of  Concord,  August  12,  1741,  two 
years  after  he  came  to  Worcester.  She  survived  him 
three  years,  leaving  at  her  decease  in  1768  four  sons, 


ITS   FIRST  SETTLERS   AND   OLD   FARMS.  15 

John,  Ebenezer,  Josiah,  and  Nathan  Melvin,  by  a  former 
husband,  and  also  a  daughter,  Sarah,  who  married  a 
Barnes.  This  first  Elisha  Smith  was  one  of  the  most 
extensive  landed  proprietors  of  his  time.  Besides  his 
homestead  which  he  left  to  his  son  Kobert,  and  the  60 
acres  he  bought  of  William  Temple,  which  he  gave  to 
his  son  Elisha,  Jr.,  he  owned  by  grant  or  purchase, 
several  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Worcester,  Holden,  and 
Lunenburg,  on  which  he  settled  his  different  sons  and 
sons-in-law,  as  before  alluded  to.  The  original  house  on 
the  estate  in  which  Elisha  and  his  son  Robert  Smith 
lived,  stood  where  E.  and  W.  C.  Jewett's  house  now 
stands,  which  latter  was  built  about  1834,  when  the 
original  house  was  torn  down,  by  the  late  Benjamin  Reed. 

Elisha  Smith,  Jr.,  who  married  Susanna  Gleason,  resid- 
ed where  Mrs.  Libby  now  lives,  and  had  there  four  sons 
and  nine  daughters,  born  between  1741  and  1758,  an 
account  of  whom  and  of  the  families  of  those  who  mar- 
ried would  form  an  extensive  chapter  in  itself,  and  must 
be  deferred  to  some  other  time  or  occasion.  The  second 
son  and  third  child,  Elisha  Smith,  the  third,  born  July  6, 
1744,  was  a  sea  captain ;  he  married,  January  13,  1774, 
Persis  Child,  daughter  of  John  Child,  a  hotel  keeper, 
whose  residence  was  a  little  over  Worcester  line,  north- 
erly of  the  Smiths  and  Harrises.  Elisha  Smith  the  third 
and  Persis,  who  had  ten  children,  resided  on  the  estate 
given  him  by  his  father,  where  C.  C.  Foster  now  lives, 
and  where  his  son,  Elisha  Smith  the  fourth,  who  married 
Betsy  Howe  of  Holden,  afterwards  lived  and  died ;  the 
third  Elisha  Smith  died  there  in  1806,  aged  60,  and  his 
son  the  fourth  Elisha,  September  22,  1850,  aged  76  ;  a 
nephew  of  the  latter,  the  late  Walter  H.  Davis,  who  took 
care  of  his  uncle  in  his  last  days,  afterwards  owning  and 
occupying  that  estate,  which  has  since  had  many  different 
owners  and  occupants. 

Daniel  Smith,  who  died  in  1856,  aged  81,  was  a 
brother  of  the  fourth  Elisha,  and  resided  in  the  brick 
building  in  the  rear  on  that  portion  of  the  parental  estate 
which  he  inherited  from  the  father. 

The   homestead   estate   of   the  second  Elisha   Smith, 


16  AN    HISTORICAL   ADDRESS — NORTH   WORCESTER  : 

where  Mrs.  Libby  lives,  passed  out  of  the  family  after 
his  decease,  to  Benjamin  Thaxter  of  Abington,  whose 
title  to  it,  then  comprising  105  acres,  bears  date  Novem- 
ber 27,  1792.  Since  then  the  estate  has  been  best 
known  as  the  Thaxter  Place,  although  the  Thaxters  owned 
it  only  about  35  years.  Benjamin  Thaxter  died  there 
April  21,  1821,  aged  63,  and  his  widow  and  son  Fran- 
cis lived  there  after  him  till  the  estate  passed  out  of 
the  family  about  1828."^  The  next  owner  and  occupant 
was  Thomas  A.  Aldrich,  from  Khode  Island,  who  sold 
it  in  1849  to  the  late  Dea.  Alpheus  Merrifield,  the 
latter  purchasing  it  for  his  son,  the  late  Francis  N.  Mer- 
rifield, who  lived  there,  and  sold  it  about  1866  to  the 
late  James  L.  Libby,  and  the  latter's  family  still  own  and 
occupy  it. 

Asa  Ward,  who  purchased  in  1776  of  Robert  Smith, 
the  homestead  estate  of  his  father,  the  first  Elisha  Smith, 
west  of  North  Pond,  sold  the  same  in  1781  to  Dea. 
Ebenezer  Reed,  from  Uxbridge,  who  resided  on  that  por- 
tion of  it  where  R.  J.  Pierce  now  lives,  till  his  death 
May,  11,  1823,  aged  81  years,  and  his  son  Samuel  T. 
Reed  lived  there  after  him  till  his  death,  April  21,  1832, 
aged  58,  the  latter's  brother,  the  late  Benjamin  Reed, 
taking  that  portion  of  the  original  estate  afterwards 
purchased  by  the  late  Ebenezer  Jewett,  father  of  the 
present  Eben  Jewett,  who  now  resides  thereon  with  his 
son,  Warren  C.  Jewett.  That  portion  of  the  original 
estate  where,  the  late  Samuel  T.  Reed  lived  and  where  R. 

*  Benjamin  Thaxter  was  a  native  of  Hingham,  and  brother,  probably, 
of  the  Francis  Thaxter  who  owned  the  Daniels  place  awhile.  Benjamin 
Thaxter  married,  before  he  came  to  Worcester,  Sarah  Howe,  of  Abington, 
and  they  had  these  six  children :  1,  Sarah,  born  in  1786,  married,  August 
30,  1815,  Joseph  Avery  of  Plymouth,  son  of  Eev.  Joseph  Avery,  pastor  of 
the  old  church  in  Holden,  from  1774  till  his  death  in  1824,  aged  72  years ; 

2,  Benjamin,  Jr.,  born  in  1788,  died  September  6,  1886,  in  Boston,  aged  98 ; 

3,  Mary  H.,  born  in  1793,  married,  July  12,  1826,  Henry  Wheeler,  son  of 
Theophilus  Wheeler,  Register  of  Probate  from  1793  to  1836,  and  she  died 
November  19, 1874,  aged  81,  at  the  old  Wheeler  homestead  on  Main  Street, 
where  her  husband  and  his  father  and  grandfather  had  lived,  and  where 
also  her  sister,  Mrs.  Avery,  died  February  17, 1873,  aged  87 ;  4,  Francis, 
succeeded  his  father  on  the  old  Thaxter  estate  at  North  Worcester,  and 
died  unmarried,  September  14, 1851,  aged  54  years,  at  the  residence  of  his 
sister,  Mrs.  Henry  Wheeler;  5,  Martin  H.,  died  September  21,  1826,  aged 
43,  in  Florida ;  6,  Fanny  L.,  died  August  31,  1859,  aged  68,  unmarried,  at 
her  sister's  Mrs.  Henry  Wheeler.  See  "  Reminiscences  of  Worcester," 
page  257. 


ITS  FIRST  SETTLERS  AND  OLD  FARMS  17 

J.  Pierce  now  lives,  was  purchased  of  the  Reed  heirs  in 
1836  by  the  late  Nathan  Rogers,  from  Holden,  father 
of  ex-alderman  Thomas  M.  Rogers.  Nathan  Rogers  car- 
ried on  the  farm  alone  for  two  years,  till  1838,  when  his 
son,  the  late  Jeremiah  Rogers,  joined  him,  and  they 
carried  on  the  farm  together  till  the  father's  death  in 
1855,  when  Jeremiah's  son,  George  P.  Rogers,  purchased 
of  the  heirs  his  grandfather's  half  of  the  farm,  and 
George  P.  Rogers  and  his  father  owned  and  occupied  the 
farm  together  till  1865,  when  they  sold  out  to  Granger 
and  R.  Judson  Pierce,  and  they  managed  it  together  till 
the  death  of  Granger  Pierce,  since  which  time  R.  J. 
Pierce  has  owned  and  managed  it  alone. 

But,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  will  not  weary  you  with  a 
further  detail  of  facts  or  statistics  at  this  time.  Let  me 
close  with  a  few  moralising  reflections  pertinent  to  the 
topic  and  occasion,  on  what  has  been  said. 

As  we  review  the  history  of  a  century  and  three-quarters 
in  this  locality,  since  the  first  proprietor  of  these  lands, 
James  Knapp,  came  here,  and  his  successor  by  purchase, 
Richard  Temple,  settled  his  sons,  Joseph  and  William, 
and  his  son-in-law,  William  Harris,  thereon ;  as  we  look 
back  to  their  times,  how  deeply  are  we  impressed  with 
the  extent  and  significance  of  the  changes  which  have 
since  transpired.  The  same  rocks  and  hills  are  indeed 
here  ;  the  same  heavens  are  above  our  heads,  the  same 
earth  is  under  our  feet ;  and  the  same  purling  brooks 
meander  through  the  valleys  into  that  ancient  landmark, 
so  often  referred  to  in  the  old  records,  the  old  "  North 
Pond,"  just  below  us ;  but  in  all  things  relating  to 
humanity  and  the  progress  of  civilization,  how  extensive 
are  the  changes  !  Looking  over  the  long  list  of  past 
proprietors  and  dwellers  on  the  different  farms  into  which 
these  lands  have  been  divided,  the  Temples,  Harrises, 
Peables,  Smiths,  Houghton,  Lyon,  Fish,  the  Thaxters, 
Patches,  the  Farrars,  Daniels,  Gleasons,  Wards,  Reeds, 
Rogers,  and  others  of  the  past,  and  their  contemporaries 
on  the  surrounding  estates,  the  Flaggs,  McKonkeys, 
Whitneys,  Barbers,  Nichols,  Childs,  Gearys,  Dwelleys, 
Drurys,  and  others  ;  in  our  minds'  eye  we  see  them  tug- 


18  AN    HISTORICAL  ADDRESS — NORTH  WORCESTER: 

ging  away  at  their  work,  with  their  old  fashioned  imple- 
ments of  husbandry,  as  they  followed  their  humble 
callings,  for  the  maintenance  of  themselves  and  those 
near  and  dear  to  them  by  the  same  family  ties  which 
bind  us  to  those  now  depending  upon  us  for  support. 
We  may  well  say  of  these  veteran  farmers  of  the  olden 
time  on  these  hDls  and  along  these  valleys  :  They  now 
rest  from  their  labors  in  their  long,  last  sleep : 

"  They  have  plowed  their  last  furrow  and  reaped  their  last  grain, 
No  morn  shall  awake  them  to  labor  again." 

"  Oft  did  the  harvest  to  their  sickle  yield, 
Their  furrow,  oft,  the  stubborn  glebe  has  broke ; 

How  jocund  did  they  drive  their  teams  afield. 
How  bowed  the  woods  beneath  their  sturdy  stroke. 

The  breezy  call  of  incense-breathing  morn, 
The  swallow  twittering  from  the  straw  built  shed. 

The  cock's  shrill  clarion,  or  the  echoing  horn, 
No  more  shall  rouse  them  from  their  lowly  bed. 

For  them  no  more  the  blazing  hearth  shall  burn. 

Or  busy  house-wife  ply  her  evening  care ; 
No  children  run  to  lisp  their  sire's  return. 

Or  climb  his  knees,  the  envied  kiss  to  share." 

As  we  contemplate  in  imagination  these  former  tillers 
of  the  soil,  with  their  past  time  simple  modes  of  husband- 
ry, in  striking  contrast  with  our  modern  improved 
methods  of  farming  by  the  application  of  machinery  and 
multiplied  means  of  fertilization,  making  so  many  blades 
of  grass  and  so  many  ears  of  corn  and  kernels  of  grain 
grow  where  but  one  could  formerly  be  produced  ;  as  we 
take  into  consideration  our  modern,  vastly  multiplied 
facilities  for  farming,  over  the  past,  how  forcibly  are  we 
reminded  of  the  obligation  and  responsibility  of  the 
present  cultivators  of  the  soil  to  "  make  farming  pay  " 
to  a  much  greater  extent  than  did  our  predecessors  with 
so  much  less  favorable  facilities  at  their  command.  If 
our  patriotic  old  forefathers,  whom  we  are  in  the  habit 
of  so  justly  commending  for  their  stern  virtues  of  indus- 
try and  perseverance,  could  secure  for  themselves  and 
their  families  a  comfortable  and  substantial  living, 
educate  their  children,  and  hand  down  their  names  to  us 
as  good  examples  for  us  to  follow,  how  impressively 
comes  to  us  the  sense  of  obligation  and  duty  for  the 


ITS  FIRST  SETTLERS  AND  OLD  FARMS.  19 

intelligent  farmers  of  this  model  old  agricultural  county 
of  Worcester,  with  their  immensely  increased  facilities, 
to  set  themselves  in  the  foreground  as  successful  prac- 
titioners of  the  noble  art  of  husbandry,  making  it  pay 
financially  as  well  at  least  as  any  other  honest  busi- 
ness calling  in  our  midst. 

Two  hundred  and  sixty-nine  years  ago  this  very  day, 
the  Mayflower,  with  its  precious  load  of  Pilgrims,  had 
arrived  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  was  seeking  a  eafe 
landing  place,  which  they  found  a  few  days  later  on 
Plymouth  Rock.  For  what  did  they  come  here,  except 
to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and 
maintain  an  honest  subsistence  for  all  by  the  cultivation 
of  the  land  which  they  were  careful  to  secure  a  right  to 
by  equitable  purchase  from  the  Indians,  as  well  as  grants 
from  the  mother  country  ?  They  did  not  come  here  to 
huddle  together  in  a  few  large  communities,  where  the 
privileged  few  might  enrich  themselves  at  the  expense 
and  sacrifice  of  the  labors  of  the  great  multitude  of 
"  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water;"  where  concen- 
trated capital  might  lord  it  over  the  toiling  millions  in 
compact  and  densely  crowded  cities.  On  the  contrary, 
they  came  here  to  spread  out  over  the  land.  When  one 
little  community  of  proprietors  after  another,  which  they 
called  towns,  miles  and  miles  apart,  had  become  no 
larger  in  population  than  your  little  village  of  North 
Worcester,  they  gradually  pushed  out  farther  and  farther 
into  the  country  for  more  room,  founding  Worcester  in 
due  time  in  their  westward  progress  from  the  sea  shore. 

Had  there  been  a  wider  spread  over  the  land,  and  less 
extension  up  into  the  air,  in  the  erection  of  the  many- 
storied  structures  in  our  large  cities,  and  had  the  streets 
upon  which  they  were  built  been  wider  instead  of  so  nar- 
row as  they  are,  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  nature,  might 
not  some  of  the  big  fires  we  have  been  pained  to  read 
the  details  of,  been  prevented  ?  "  The  mills  of  God,"  it 
is  said,  "  grind  slowly,"  but  they  grind  sure,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  wiser  action  in  the  future,  on  the  part  of  those 
most  responsible  for  the  present  state  of  things  in  this 
regard,  may  be  induced  from  the  sad  lessons  of  the  past. 


20  AN    HISTORICAL  ADDRESS — NORTH  WORCESTER: 

I  would  not  be  understood,  of  course,  as  claiming  that 
there  should  be  no  cities  or  large  towns,  or  that  the  size 
of  organized  civil  communities  should  be  limited  by  any 
arbitrary  mathematical  rule, —  the  regular  laws  of  bus- 
iness and  trade,  if  left  to  operate  legitimately,  would 
settle  this  matter  properly, —  but  I  do  claim  that  inor- 
dinate selfishness,  a  one-sided,  misguided  view  of  things, 
has  crept  in  and  pushed  matters  in  this  line  out  of  all  due 
proportion,  between  an  honest  demand  and  supply,  as  to 
actual  need  and  benefit,  for  the  public  interest,  in  the 
extreme  modern  rush  of  the  rural  population  into  the 
cities,  leaving  the  old  farms,  with  all  their  ancestral  asso- 
ciations, to  go  to  ruin.  Had  the  95  per  cent  of  those 
who,  within  my  own  recollection,  have  became  bankrupt 
in  their  attempt  to  run  mercantile  business  in  Worcester, 
remained  upon  the  iarm,  and  cultivated  that  as  they 
ought,  they  might  have  made  a  successful  thing  of  it, 
instead  of  running  behind ;  they  might  not  have  become 
millionaires,  but  they  certainly  would  not  have  been 
so  far  behindhand,  pecuniarily,  as  too  many  of  such  adven- 
turous ones  have  become,  and  been  obliged  to  resort  to 
the  statutes  of  the  commonwealth  in  order  to  get  again 
upon  their  feet,  and  become  again  legally  (quite  a  differ- 
ent thing  from  morally)  square  with  the  world. 

All  honor  to  those  of  our  time  who  have  set  noble 
examples  in  turning  attention  to  the  farm  in  the  midst 
of  their  other  avocations.  Among  these  is  our  estimable 
and  enterprising  host,  one  of  the  five  per  cent  who  have 
made  a  success  in  their  mercantile  business,  as  contradis- 
tinguished from  the  unfortunate  95  per  cent  who  have 
made  a  wreck  of  it. 

Let  this  rejuvenation  of  the  old  farms  in  New  England 
go  forward,  till,  in  our  travels  through  the  country  towns, 
we  shall  see,  instead  of  dilapidated  homesteads  of  former 
successful  tillers  of  the  soil,  from  the  windows  of  which 
the  owl  may  almost  be  said  to  look  out  at  noonday  upon 
the  decay  of  a  former  civilization,  we  may  witness  the 
homes  of  prosperous  farmers,  with  their  "  cattle  upon  a 
thousand  hills,"  the  landscape  interspersed  with  little  mill 
villages  along  the  many  streams  and  waterfalls,  while  at 


ITS  FIRST  SETTLERS  AND  OLD  FARMS.  21 

a  distance  an  enterprising  city  like  our  own  Worcester, 
reaching  its  proud  proportions  on  the  basis  of  a  natural 
growth,  on  the  principles  of  equity  and  justice,  as  the 
grand  central  mart  of  trade  and  business  for  this  section 
of  the  country,  looms  up  grandly  to  view,  with  its  85,000 
inhabitants  and  huge  manufacturing  establishments,  its 
innumerable  churches  and  unexcelled  institutions  of 
education  and  instruction,  crowned  with  that  latest  and 
most  distinguished  addition  to  our  educational  facilities, 
the  celebrated  Clark  University. 

Mr.  Wall's  address  occupied  about  an  hour  in  the 
delivery,  was  listened  to  with  marked  attention,  and 
warmly  applauded  at  the  close.  Like  the  other  addresses 
of  a  similar  character  by  the  speaker,  relating  to  other 
localities,  it  was  recognized  as  a  valuable  contribution  to 
our  local  history,  and  requested  to  be  printed  in  full. 

Remarks  followed  by  Hon.  Clark  Jillson,  B.  W.  Potter, 
Esq.,  Ezekiel  Newton  of  Westboro,  Joseph  Lovell,  the 
oldest  person  present,  and  Rev.  Alonzo  Sanderson  of 
Laurel  Street  Church,  each  giving  some  interesting  rem- 
iniscences relative  to  matters  referred  to  in  the 
address.  On  motion  of  H.  J.  Allen,  a  vote  of  thanks  was 
extended  to  Mr.  Wall  for  his  address,  and  to  Mr.  Lowell 
for  his  liberal  hospitality.  A  very  pleasant  feature  of 
the  occasion  was  the  presence  of  Ezekiel  Newton  of 
Westborough,  an  owner  and  occupant  of  the  premises  for 
39  years  —  from  1831  to  1870  —  who  renewed  many  old 
associations  with  his  former  neighbors  and  friends  here. 

Letters  were  read  from  Mayor  Winslow,  President 
Hall  of  Clark  University,  and  Hon.  W.  W.  Rice,  regret- 
ting their  inability  to  be  present  in  response  to 
invitations. 

At  the  close  of  the  exercises  a  generous  collation  was 
served  by  Mr.  Lowell,  who  secured  the  services  of 
caterer  Rebboli  for  the  occasion,  which  will  be  long 
remembered. 


COMMENDATOEY   LETTERS. 


Several  other  letters,  besides  those  previously  alluded  to,  have 
been  received  from  prominent  gentlemen  interested  in  the  enter- 
prise in  which  Mr.  Wall  is  engaged,  warmly  encouraging  him 
in  the  same.  Among  them,  Charles  F.  Washburn,  Esq.,  a  native 
of  Worcester,  and  representing  the  largest  business  enterprise 
in  the  county,  the  Washburn  &  Moen  Manufacturing  Company, 
writes : 

"  I  want  to  thank  you  for  your  very  kind  invitation  to  listen  to  your 
address  at  North  Worcester.  I  should  have  been  very  glad  to  have  availed 
myself  of  the  same,  had  not  other  imperative  engagements  stood  in  the 
way." 

Mayor  Winslow^s  letter,  dated  Dec.  5,  was  in  these  words : 

*'  Mr  Wall— -My  Dear  Sir.  I  extremely  regret  that  my  official  duties 
at  the  City  Hall,  Friday  evening,  will  prevent  my  accepting  your  polite 
invitation  to  be  present  at  the  farm  house  of  A.  S.  Lowell,  on  that  evening. 
I  have  been  very  much  interested  in  the  historical  sketches  you  have  so 
carefully  made  of  so  many  places  of  note  within  our  city,  and  I  can  but 
hope  they  may  be  compiled  and  placed  within  the  reach  of  all  our  citi- 
zens.   Accept  my  thanks. 

Respectfully, 

SAMUEL    WINSLOW. 

Ex-Mayor  and  Ex- Congressman  W.  W.  Rice  wrote  Dec.  5  : 

"  My  Dear  Mr.  Wall. — I  was  hoping  to  accept  in  person  your  very 
kind  invitation  to  hear  your  lecture  at  Mr.  Lowell's.  There  is  no  subject  1 
am  more  interested  in  than  the  history  of  those  old  farms.  If,  as  I  fear, 
other  engagements  may  prevent  my  attending,  I  hope  to  have  the  pleasure 
of  perusmg  it  in  print. 

Very  truly  yours, 

W.  W.  RICE. 

Similar  words  of  commendation  have  been  received  from  Ex- 
Mayor  Edward  L.  Davis,  a  ^'native  and  to  the  manner  born"  of 
our  noble  city.  Principal  A.  S.  Roe  of  the  High  School,  and 
others,  encouraging  Mr.  Wall  to  persevere  in  the  good  work 
he  is  doing. 

President  G.  Stanley  Hall,  of  Clark  University,  in  his  letter 
of  thanks  for  the  invitation,  ^ '  regretted  exceedingly  that  another 
engagement  prevented  him  from  attending  the  meeting." 

Hon.  George  William  Curtis,  of  New  York,  whose  ancestors 
for  five  generations  were  residents  of  Worcester,  wrote  express- 
ing the  great  interest  and  pleasure  with  which  he  had  read  the 
reports  of  several  of  Mr.  Wall's  addresses  and  papers  on  Worces- 
ter, adding,  ^ '  I  find  that  whatever  concerns  Worcester,  seems 
through  my  ancestors,  down  to  my  father,  to  concern  me," 


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